When I'm Free, Of Course I'll Come Keep You Company

"What exactly has that guy been doing? It feels like I haven't seen him in ages."

By the calm lake, a girl with long hair cascading down her back sat at the edge of the pier, swinging her fair, slender legs. Her worries weren't without reason.

Recently, the Uchiha Clan's unrest had nearly reached its peak. People had been vanishing for no apparent reason, and when they went to Konoha for an explanation, they were met only with bureaucratic brush-offs.

The conflict between the two sides even seemed close to erupting at any moment. And these past few days, her Sharingan's sensitivity had made her constantly feel countless eyes watching them from the shadows.

What was more, even members of their own clan seemed capable of monitoring them. It wasn't just her imagination.

But where exactly was the source of it all?!

"Don't worry about that guy. He's always nowhere to be found. We should worry about ourselves instead."

A rather effeminate young man walked over from the side. He was clearly several years older than Izumi Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha, but unlike Itachi, who had graduated directly from the Ninja Academy due to his extraordinary talent and become a Jonin, Hinata Bai was nothing more than an obscure nobody.

Thinking about it, it really was enough to make one jealous.

Still, he was deeply devoted to Izumi. As her classmate, friend, and hopeless simp, whenever Izumi sat alone lost in thought, he would always go over and comfort her.

"How could I not worry?"

Izumi couldn't help sighing. Even an optimistic girl like her knew how dangerous and difficult Anbu work was. She had heard that Itachi had carried out many perilous missions within it.

It was impossible not to worry about him.

"Every time, my heart starts racing. It's that kind of ominous feeling. I heard Grandma Fortune-Teller say that this mission... I'm afraid he..."

At that point, Izumi couldn't hold back her tears any longer.

"Don't worry. Haven't you got me here with you? I can always stay by your side and help ease your feelings. He might not come back for a while, but he'll come back eventually. If you keep worrying like this, you'll wear yourself out. Girls who cry too often won't be pretty, you know."

Hinata Bai gently stroked Izumi's back. The moment he felt that smooth skin, his entire body trembled slightly. After all, this was his first time.

Before this, even if he came up with countless excuses to touch his goddess, he might not have gotten the chance to get close to her.

For a moment, he nearly rolled his eyes in bliss.

But he quickly restrained himself. He couldn't let Izumi notice. He had to be subtle, letting things seep in silently. One day, he would make Izumi understand that strength and good looks weren't the most important things. At the very least, his love would make her feel burning passion. That was what mattered most.

"You're right. Ninja shouldn't cry so easily. Thank you for reminding me."

Izumi wiped her delicate face and gradually regained her composure. To outsiders, she was like a beautiful model walking across ice. One could easily imagine that once she grew up, she would undoubtedly rank among the top ten beauties of the Land of Fire.

Boom!

Another disturbance came from the distance, but they had already grown used to it. The recent situation had been extremely unclear. Powerful individuals had sprung up everywhere like mushrooms after rain, and they especially enjoyed causing destruction and killing people for fun.

Because of this, the Five Great Nations had even formed alliances to resist the outsiders descending upon their world. Yet privately, who didn't want to recruit these powerful tailless beasts under their command?

"What? Were you talking about me?"

Suddenly, a familiar voice came from behind them. Itachi pushed aside the bushes and stepped out with a smile on his face.

The instant he appeared, Bai's face turned deathly pale, as if the person he least wanted to see had shown up. Itachi saw all of it, especially the safe distance between the two of them.

One had to know that the safe distance between two people was around 85 meters. Once someone entered that range, every approach could mean the other person might pose a corresponding threat and hurt you.

Only when one had dropped their guard or accepted the other's intimacy would they allow someone into that absolute enemy's "private territory."

"Itachi, you're back! Where have you been these past few days?"

Seeing that fair-skinned young man still as handsome as ever, Izumi immediately ran toward him with a bright smile. Yet after taking only a few steps, she suddenly felt that his aura seemed much stranger than before.

Could it be some kind of Transformation Technique?

"Uchiha Bai, you didn't deliberately use some Transformation Technique to cheer me up, did you? I'm already feeling much better now. Thank you."

Izumi gathered up her long hair and tied it back, her voice somewhat cool.

For some reason, the aura of the Itachi Uchiha before her always felt elusive and unstable, making her suspicious of him the way Orochimaru did.

"It's me. How could it not be me?"

Itachi's mouth twitched slightly, but the next second, he understood. So a potential rival had already appeared in this form.

Don't tell me he's one of those damn male best friends.

He was sick of these people's false pretenses and self-righteousness. But so what if there was a love rival? Izumi truly had grown into a lovely young beauty. With her beauty mark, she could be sweet or cool as she pleased.

What man wouldn't be smitten with her?

"Is it really you?"

Izumi approached him somewhat doubtfully. She noticed that his figure had become much straighter and more imposing. They hadn't seen each other for only a few days, yet he had changed so much.

But that was all thanks to the Lava Jade Liquid. The enormous chakra had not only allowed him to comprehend a higher level of power, but had also continuously reshaped his body as it circulated through him.

After stripping away the little body fat he had left, the lines of his eight-pack abs and narrow waist had become even more distinct.

The sense of power filling those muscles was so abundant that he felt like he wouldn't become tired even after staying up for several days straight.

But that Mamba really was a bastard. He had actually harbored improper thoughts while Itachi was meditating. That beast still retained far too much of its animal nature.

If he didn't deal with it, it would remain a serious problem.

At least their relationship could be cultivated slowly. But that wasn't important right now. After all, he couldn't stay in Ryūchi Cave all the time; he had to come out and relax once in a while.

"Of course it's me. I've been fairly free lately, so I can accompany you on some simple missions. Consider it my way of keeping you company. Come to think of it, I still haven't prepared a gift for you since you awakened your Sharingan."

Right in front of Hinata Bai, Itachi paid him no extra attention at all and directly invited her.

But in Izumi's eyes, it took on an entirely different meaning.

Is he asking me out on a date?

PS: Brothers, do you have any comments or private messages? If there's something you want to see, I'll do my best to arrange it.